Aeonium arboreum is a species of the genus Aeonium in the thick-leaf family. It is endemic to the Canary Islands and its varieties are used as ornamental plants. Source
A very easy to grow succulent that can withstand the heat as well as lack of water. We were heading for home base when the pandemic broke-out and we abruptly left Andalusia and left this plant behind untouched for 22 months. When we came back to Spain, the first thing I checked upon our arrival was my garden and how it suffered from lack of water. Except for one rainy day, nobody watered this succulent, so I was astonished to see that it didn´t die-off. In fact, the branches looked good and robust, the leaves started to grow again and the buds keep growing. The cluster of flowers that has a mild aroma looks good and last very long so that the bees came one by one. And now they keep coming everyday to suck the nectar until all yellow clusters are fully worked on.
As we know bees are one of the most important pollinators on Earth. They are doing a great job for our ecosystem as pollen carriers and help plants live and reproduce. Bees are dying in the last years, probable cause might be man made. The use of chemicals in farming must have been one reason why bees are dying, so let´s hope that the declining numbers of these species stop now and one thing to do is spreading awareness of the situation so that they are protected.
Text and image are owned by @mers